Recently elected Hall of Famer Owens dies at 88

Kimberly Meesters of the NASCAR Hall of Fame confirmed Owens passing through his family. Meesters only said Owens died peacefully. She says there would be additional details this afternoon.

Owens, who lived in Spartanburg, was a NASCAR pioneer who was part of the Hall's class of 2013, announced two weeks ago in Charlotte. He'll be inducted along with Rusty Wallace, Leonard Wood and the late Buck Baker and Herb Thomas.

Owens won nine times on NACAR's top circuit. He was perhaps better known as an owner, fielding cars for Hall of Fame drivers like Junior Johnson and David Pearson. In all, Owens had 41 wins and 38 poles in 487 races as an owner.